"Nothing is as fascinating as spending hours listening to Walter’s theories of life, cinema and the countless tidbits of wisdom that he leaves behind him like Hansel and Gretel´s trail of bread crumbs: guidance and nourishment.” says Francis Ford Coppola about Walter Murch.
The editor, sound designer (Murch coined the term) and mixer worked with directors like Philip Kaufman, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (1987) and Coppola, "The Godfather" (1972), and was awarded with his first Academy Award for the sound editing and mixing of "Apocalypse Now" (1979). For “Apocalypse Now”, Murch initiated the development of an innovative system of surround sound (5.1) that dramatically changed the nature of film sound. He is one of the pioneers of non linear editing and draws his inspiration from a variety of artistic fields. David and Edie Ichioka allow us to share his engaging theoretical and phenomenological approach to the craft.
During the entire length of the film, Murch holds our attention with his witty aphorisms and guides us into the subtle mysteries of his profession. Again and again, the film breaks from the face to face interview format with the addition of playful effects that are analogous to Murch’s explanations and clips from his films.
Pre film: “In Conversation with Walter Murch” (NL, 1980) – Murch's phrophecy in this conversation, which Frank Scheffer made during the making of his film “Zoetrope People”, was fullfilled in the nineties: the digital revolution in the postprodcution of motion pictures.
We thank the Amsterdam Film Museum for their friendly support.